Robert Pattinson: It’s Frightening To Lose Your Identity In Franchises

Truth rating: 10

By Holly Nicol | 6:30 am, December 7, 2017

(Variety)

Robert Pattinson admitted to finding franchise work “frightening” in a new interview with Variety. In the chat, the star said he felt like a “big shot” when he first started acting, but when his role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight Saga propelled him to stardom, he “lost” his sense of identity and control. See the video below.

The Good Time actor spoke to Jamie Bell as part of Variety’s Actors on Actors series. In the interview, the former Twilight and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire star expressed how he felt he lost his “sense of identity” in franchise filmmaking. Pattinson said, “It’s frightening. When something becomes really big, you really get an awareness of how small you are, like where it is when you first start acting and you feel like a big shot when you’re only doing something small. My ego was a lot bigger when I first started.”

He further explained, “When you start losing control of a lot of different aspects of your life and also the job, especially when you’re doing sequels to something. It doesn’t matter what you think: (a) It’s already been written in a book, and (b) the tone has already been set up, and the machine is already in motion. It’s frightening when you lose your sense of identity.” Even though he admittedly finds sequels and major commercial roles daunting, Pattinson said he “doesn’t shy away” from franchise work. “I never try to run away from any of it,” he told Bell.

Pattinson also spoke in the interview about the film directors who inspire him, and noted that his favorite work comes from directors who he doesn’t know. “I don’t see half of these people as human beings.It’s a name, and I just see the movies that have already existed and been really influential to me,” he said. Watch the full Variety interview below.